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Cairo Summit Gives Sudan 3 Months for Power Transfer

Handout / Egyptian Presidency / AFP | African leaders at a summit in Cairo on April 23, 2019.
Handout / Egyptian Presidency / AFP | African leaders at a summit in Cairo on April 23, 2019.
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Cairo Summit Gives Sudan 3 Months for Power Transfer

Handout / Egyptian Presidency / AFP | African leaders at a summit in Cairo on April 23, 2019.
Handout / Egyptian Presidency / AFP | African leaders at a summit in Cairo on April 23, 2019.

African Union leaders meeting in Cairo on Tuesday gave Sudan’s transitional military council three months to hand over power to civilians.

The summit, which was chaired by Egyptian President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi, saw the attendance of the presidents of Chad, Rwanda, Congo, Somalia, South Africa, and Djibouti in addition to the deputy prime minister of Ethiopia, foreign ministers of Uganda and Kenya, permanent secretary of Nigeria’s foreign ministry, head of the African Union commission and security affairs adviser of South Sudan’s president.

Since the ouster of Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir earlier this month, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan is leading the transitional military council.

The AU threatened on April 15 to suspend Sudan’s membership if the council didn’t hand out the authority to civilians within 15 days.

The summit statement on Tuesday expressed "the complete support of the African Union and neighboring countries for Sudan as it faces political, security and economic challenges."

The participating countries said they would help Sudan tackle cross-border crime including arms and human trafficking in order to maintain regional stability.

The meeting stressed that the Sudanese authorities and the political parties should work together in good faith to address the current situation in Sudan and to speed up the reestablishment of a constitutional regime.

"The participating countries recognized the need to give more time to the Sudanese authorities and the Sudanese parties to implement these measures, taking into consideration that they will not be lengthy, and recommended that the African Peace and Security Council extend the schedule given to the Sudanese authority for three months," added the statement.

Egyptian Presidential spokesman Ambassador Bassam Radi stated that Sisi, who holds the rotating African Union presidency, asserted during the summit the importance of setting a joint vision for stability in Sudan.

Sisi affirmed Egypt’s “full support for the choices of the Sudanese people, their free will in shaping their country’s future, and what they will agree upon in such crucial and determining phase of their history.”

“Establishing the concept of 'African solutions for African problems' is the only way to deal with joint challenges. The African states are most capable of understanding the complications of their issues, and the uniqueness of their affairs," the Egyptian president told the conference.

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Iraq Frustrated by Iran’s Reluctance to Rein in Militias

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani has cautioned leaders of the Coordination Framework about the threats facing Iraq due to the escalating conflict between Israel and Iran (X)
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani has cautioned leaders of the Coordination Framework about the threats facing Iraq due to the escalating conflict between Israel and Iran (X)
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Iraq Frustrated by Iran’s Reluctance to Rein in Militias

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani has cautioned leaders of the Coordination Framework about the threats facing Iraq due to the escalating conflict between Israel and Iran (X)
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani has cautioned leaders of the Coordination Framework about the threats facing Iraq due to the escalating conflict between Israel and Iran (X)

A senior government official said Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani has warned leaders of the Coordination Framework about the “risks to Iraq” from the growing conflict between Israel and Iran.

The official added that Iran is using “deception” when asked to distance its allied militias from the war.

Political and government figures are increasingly worried that Iraq could be hit, after two Israeli soldiers were killed in a drone strike on the Golan Heights early Friday.

Speaking anonymously to Asharq Al-Awsat, the official said al-Sudani is taking steps to keep Iraq out of the conflict.

These efforts include ramping up “political mediation” to persuade militias not to involve Iraq. The prime minister “informed Coordination Framework leaders of the risks” and urged them to “act quickly.”

The official also warned that an attack is still possible, saying intelligence shows the Iraqi militias launched the strike from outside Iraq, using weapons that came from Iraqi territory.

Al-Sudani’s Mediation Efforts

The Iraqi premier has chosen mediators, approved by Iran, to negotiate with militias about the conflict and conditions for de-escalation. These three individuals have previously acted as mediators in past crises.

Last week, Asharq Al-Awsat reported that al-Sudani asked three key Shiite figures to intervene and prevent militias from getting involved in the war between Hezbollah and Israel, after reports surfaced that Israel had identified 35 Iraqi targets.

Sources confirmed that Ammar al-Hakim is among the mediators, along with two other influential Shiite leaders whose names haven’t been disclosed.

However, two Iraqi militias—likely the al-Nujaba Movement led by Akram al-Kaabi and Kataib Hezbollah led by Abu Hussein al-Hamidawi—have refused to cooperate and continue launching rocket attacks on Israel.

The Iraqi official admitted that some militias are “stubborn,” but stressed that al-Sudani knows Iraq is “at the center of the storm.”

He reportedly told leaders of the Coordination Framework, “Iraq cannot avoid a military strike if it happens, so we must stay out of the war to protect the country.”

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, in a Friday sermon, stated that “Iran’s allies in the region won’t back down,” increasing concerns that Iraqi militias tied to Iran will continue attacking Israel.

Iraqi sources also reported that the Coordination Framework has reviewed an “intelligence report” on dozens of Iraqi targets that Israel might strike or assassinate.

Government Efforts to Prevent Escalation

Al-Sudani has blocked the flow of Iraqi funds into conflict zones, unlike previous leaders, according to the official.

He has worked closely with the US and its Treasury Department to strictly monitor financial movements, often insisting that Iran uses official channels to claim its dues from Iraq.

The official also said global auditing firms are now helping Iraq’s central bank oversee financial transactions, shutting down all previous routes for illicit money flows.

Since the Gaza war began on October 7, 2023, the US told Iraq it pressured Israel not to strike Iraq, as long as Iraq stays out of the conflict, the official added.

The US doesn’t oppose Iraq’s stance of condemning Israel, supporting Lebanon and Palestine, and sending aid.

But it “won’t accept any financial or military support to militias.”

Regarding Iran’s role, the official said Tehran claims militias act independently, dodging responsibility for reining them in.